A special education legal resource discussing case law, news, practical advocacy advice, and developments in state and federal laws, statutes and regulations. Postings include insight and sometimes humor from Charles P. Fox, a Chicago, Illinois attorney who is also a parent of child with special needs, and other guest authors. Email: [email protected]

March 22, 2017

The following is a reproduced statement as to the critical need to save Medicaid from Trumpcare.

The American Health Care Act (AHCA) jeopardizes healthcare for the nation’s most vulnerable children: students with disabilities and students in poverty. Specifically, the AHCA reneges on Medicaid’s 50+ year commitment to provide America’s children with access to vital healthcare services that ensure they have adequate educational opportunities and can contribute to society by imposing a per-capita cap and shifting current and future costs to taxpayers in every state and Congressional district. While children currently comprise almost half of all Medicaid beneficiaries, less than one in five dollars is spent by Medicaid on children. Accordingly, a per-capita cap, even one that is based on different groups of beneficiaries, will disproportionally harm children’s access to care, including services received at school.

The Court ruled that schools to "meet its substantive obligation under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a school must offer an "individualized education program" reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child's circumstances." While full parameters of this ruling will be played out over years, this decision soundly rejects the minimal standard that the school district argued and raises the standard for an education for students with special needs. Stay tuned as there is certainly more analysis that will be forthcoming.